Franchise

DLA Piper's Franchise practice is a national and international leader in franchise law, having helped to shape the field from its inception. Many of the world’s largest and most innovative restaurant chains, hotels, retailers, and service providers rely on us to help them successfully establish franchise or related distribution systems and navigate their expansion into new markets around the globe.

Our global Franchise practice is ranked tier one globally by all major legal directories. With lawyers located in all of the world's key jurisdictions, we are the leading law firm for businesses seeking counsel on franchising matters. For companies that are expanding nationally and for multinationals that are expanding their businesses across the globe, we are the go-to firm, having represented clients in franchise transactions in more than 100 countries. We have considerable experience in assisting established and emerging companies in a wide range of industries, from retail and fashion, food and beverage, and hospitality and leisure to high-technology, consumer, and professional services of all descriptions.

We serve as General Counsel to the International Franchise Association, the major trade association for the franchise industry. Additionally we are affiliate members of other national franchise associations in key global markets, including the British Franchise Association and its affiliation to the European Franchise Federation as well as the Germany Association for Distribution law. We also are closely affiliated with organizations in Australia, China, and Russia. We represent clients across the entire spectrum of businesses that have adopted franchising as a means of distribution and cover a broad scope of size and experience, from entrepreneurs and startup companies that are establishing new programs to the largest franchisors, manufacturers and distributors. Our clients manage franchise networks that range from dozens to thousands of outlets as well as trading globally through online and mobile media channels. While the majority of our clients are franchisors, we also represent multiple-outlet franchisees, area developers, and master franchisees. We also handle franchising joint ventures and a wide variety of franchise-related corporate, real estate, technology, data privacy, finance, environmental, tax, and other matters.